Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerFormer Toms River Superintendent Michael Ritacco shown in a 2010 file photo, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison.

TOMS RIVER — Michael Ritacco, the once-powerful superintendent of the fourth-largest school district in New Jersey, will spend most of the next decade in a prison cell.

Calling it the worst case of public corruption he’s seen, U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano today sentenced Ritacco to 11 years and three months in federal prison and fined him $100,000 for bilking Toms River schools, setting up inflated insurance contracts and extorting up to $2 million from the brokers as kickbacks.

"It takes the cake," said Pisano, who in 2001 sentenced former Camden Mayor Milton Milan to seven years in prison for corruption. "Milton Milan was like nickels and dimes compared with this."

Ritacco’s 2010 arrest drew headlines across the state, both because of his reputation as a high-profile educator and the amount of money alleged to have changed hands. Gov. Chris Christie — who had Ritacco on his education transition team in the months before he took office — brought it up while stumping for Republicans in Indiana that year, using the case to demonstrate "we don’t have all the problems in New Jersey fixed, not by a long shot."

Ritacco pleaded guilty to the charges in April and faced a maximum sentence of up to 14 years. Pisano did not allow the 64-year-old — who pleaded guilty in April — to voluntarily surrender at a later date, ordering him taken into custody immediately.

Toms River superintendent indicted on charges he accepted more than $1 million in bribesToms River Regional Board of Education Superintendent Michael Ritacco has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 18 counts of fraud and bribery. Ritacco, 62, who has headed one of the largest school districts in the state for nearly two decades, is charged with accepting more than $1 million in bribes between 2002 and 2010. Also charged is the district’s insurance broker, Francis Gartland, of Baltimore, Md., who allegedly maintained a lucrative contract with the district by funneling cash and gifts to Ritacco and his associates. Federal agents were at Ritacco’s home in Seaside Park before dawn today to arrest Ritacco, but he surrendered himself in Newark later in the morning. Gartland is expected to surrender to authorities Friday. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

"Today’s sentence is a just punishment for Ritacco, a public official who enriched himself at the expense of the Toms River citizens," said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. "By accepting bribes of more than a million dollars and cheating on his taxes, he betrayed the trust of the taxpayers, students, parents, and teachers of that school district."

Ritacco was remorseful, saying he accepts "full responsibility for what’s happened" and lamenting that his accomplishments will be "forgotten very quickly with one bad thing."

Ritacco attorney Bill Hughes said he was "disappointed" the judge did not give a more lenient sentence.

"He’s done a lot of good. This is one thing that he did bad," he said. "The judge rejected that and obviously we’re disappointed in it."

Hughes said Ritacco has already agreed to pay $1 million in restitution, although the Toms River school district says he owes more. A restitution hearing is scheduled in three months.

'A BIG SENTENCE'

In arguing for a strict sentence, prosecutors pointed to Ritacco’s shore home, his condo in Florida, his $100,000 Mercedes and expensive watches he bought as gifts for girlfriends.

Ritacco is ineligible for parole and must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, Hughes said. He can’t appeal it.

NOTED N.J. CORRUPTION CASES

The list of New Jersey public officials nabbed for corruption could be as long as the Turnpike. But few have gotten a sentence as big as Michael Ritacco, the former superintendent of the Toms River school system, who was handed an 11-year stay inside a prison cell today. Here’s how much time some other high-profile Jersey players got in recent years:

• Sharpe James, former Newark mayor and state senator, was sentenced in 2008 to 27 months in prison after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges for steering city land to a girlfriend.

• Joseph Coniglio, former state senator, was sentenced in 2009 to two and a half years for pushing more than $1 million in taxpayer money to Hackensack University Medical Center.

• Wayne Bryant, one of the state’s top Democrats, was sentenced in 2009 to four years in prison for boosting his pension with a low-work job and steering grants to his employer, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

• Leona Beldini, former Jersey City deputy mayor and treasurer of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s campaign in 2009, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2010 for bribery.

• Joseph Vas, former mayor of Perth Amboy, was sentenced to six and a half years last year for mail fraud, accepting illegal campaign contributions, lying to FBI agents and misappropriating city funds.

• Dennis Elwell, a former longtime mayor of Secaucus, was sentenced this year to two and a half years in prison for accepting a $10,000 bribe from undercover FBI informant Solomon Dwek as part of a wide-ranging FBI public corruption and money-laundering probe.

— Christopher Baxter

At more than 11 years, Ritacco’s sentence is longer than what was handed down in corruption cases for the highest-profile New Jersey politicians in recent years.

"Well that’s a big sentence, no doubt about that," said Darren Gelber, president-elect of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. "I’m sure the judge wants to send a strong message that in today’s day and age, public officials must be on notice. I think sentences are getting progressively higher."

Former acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said the unusually high amount of money involved in Ritacco’s case led to the long sentence. That, along with Ritacco’s lavish lifestyle, probably all played into the judge’s decision making, Marra said.

"Ultimately the taxpayers are getting victimized by paying enormously higher vendor charges," said Marra, who noted that most public corruption cases carry sentences of three or four years in prison.

The sentence also caps a stunning fall from grace for Ritacco, who began his career in Toms River schools 40 years ago as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher. He worked his way up the ranks to lead the district in 1992, and became one of the highest-profile superintendents of the state. Until his 2010 arrest, his name even adorned the Toms River arena that’s home to the high school’s basketball team.

NEXT CHAPTER

"I’m glad it’s over," said Alex Pavliv, a member of the Toms River school board who won election last year on an anti-Ritacco slate. "I think there clearly was a lack of oversight and hopefully this era is (behind) us and we can set about rebuilding this district for the children and taxpayers of the township instead of the crooks."

In a statement, Toms River Board of Education President Ed Gearity called the sentence the "conclusion of a sad chapter in the history of our district and our community" and said the board changed its policy on insurance in response to the case.

"It is most unfortunate that our reputation is being damaged by the actions of a few individuals who schemed to defraud our district," Gearity said. "Our community takes great pride in our schools and will continue to take great pride in our schools."

Insurance broker Frank Gartland, who pleaded guilty in April to padding insurance contracts to funnel bribes to Ritacco, has yet to be sentenced.

Star-Ledger staff writer Christopher Baxter and the Associated Press contributed to this report.